Innovative choice of careers has become quite prevalent these days, following a broad change in choosing careers over the years. While the reasons may vary from new fields opening up to increasing awareness, sports medicine careers is just one field that has benefited by more people opting for it. There are educational and professional criteria to be fulfilled, for a successful sports medicine career.
Educational aspect deals with studying for a profession in sports medicine. There is no separate category called sports medicine education; the term just refers to applying the principles of medicine, for best performance and treatment of injuries from exercise, sports and physical activity.
There is not even a specific called sport medicine education or a degree that can be obtained for this. On the contrary, a number of fields in medical science and exercise together form the filed of study, to pursue sports medicine career.
Exercise science is a technical learning of physiological and biomechanical principles that tell us about the ability of the human body to adapt to various movements and physical activities. When studying exercise science, apart from learning it, research is also important.
After completing the learning of exercise science, the student then proceeds to carry out a professional assignment in both clinical and academic environment. This gives the person the required understanding as well as the real world experience before starting to treat patients. If leaving at this level, the sports medicine careers open for pursuit are those of a fitness instructor, nutritionist, scientific researcher or an academic professor.
Beyond this level, the person may pursue further studies that will give him or her the necessary skills, to diagnose and treat injuries sustained in the course of sport events or physical activities.
Health and medical professional working in the field of sports medicine come from diverse backgrounds and prior experience such as training of athletes, exercise physiology, primary care, physical therapy, sports psychology, nursing and nutrition; and they bring the unique learning an experience of these fields into their treatment methods. Thus, their background is important to their continuous success in sports medicine careers.
Sports medicine careers are being pursued by an increasing number of people. Simultaneously, jobs have also increased and positions are available for sports medicine physicians, trainers, fitness instructors and others creating a win – win situation for all.